National dog day was a complete fail for us

[silvereyes]

@beliefbite The amount of incompetent dog owners I have to avoid on a daily basis is so exhausting, there’s a tiny fraction in me that regrets adopting a dog. And/or that we lived in bumblefuck Montana instead. I bet the bears there have more manners than people.

 

[beliefbite]

@silvereyes I sympathize with you on this one. I love Luna but I feel like my whole life is just devoted to keeping her away from everything.

 

[kayakgirl]

@silvereyes

I bet the bears there have more manners than people.

I know bears can be dangerous but I think you're probably onto something there. My dog has always been fine with any wild animal we've encountered on a walk - deer, sheep, cows, wild horses, swans. The only animals he's been reactive to are dogs and humans because they're the only things that have got in his personal space or tried to harm him.

 

[stan_garone]

@beliefbite Sometimes I wish me walking my dog at 4am on a Saturday would be enough to signal she's a special one

I don't enjoy having to yell, and I know at the end of the day my girl is barking because she wants to play with the other dog - but her reaction can disrupt someone else's morning AND it takes her quite sometime to calm down from a reaction.

If you see me quickly cross the street and start basic obience commands it's not because I want you and your "friendly" dog to follow me

 

[nebula122]

@beliefbite I'm having a similar issue now with a few people that we see on our walks. I'm disabled, so we have a very specific, close to home, route that we take. I'm working super hard with Abby (my dog), to get her to be less reactive on her leash, but she automatically goes into Cujo mode whenever people and dogs get too close when we're walking. She's totally fine when she's off leash and at the dog park, loves greeting other dogs and people. But when she's on her leash, she goes into bodyguard mode.

I always stop,try to get her attention on me, and reward when she lets people pass us. Unfortunately, Abby is very small and very cute (15lb shorkie, pics in my post history), so there are a lot people who think its hilarious when she's freaking out.

My neighbor down the street has been fantastic while I'm working with her, he doesn't approach, he quietly says hi to me, and completely ignores Abby. She no longer loses her shit at him.

Several neighbors on the other side of the block/ random people we see, however, think it is just hysterical to call her "killer" , laugh at her, or make kissy noises at her while she's freaking out. Worst of all,we have people try and stop to talk to me/bring their dog over while she's losing her mind.

Part of it is my fault, for not putting my foot down and telling them to knock it off (I'm working on finding my voice), but really, it should be common sense that if you see an owner actively trying to restrain and focus their dog to LEAVE THEM ALONE. If you wouldn't approach a large dog that is barking,growling,snarling, pulling on the leash, do not approach the small dog doing the same! Yes, she's little. Yes, she's adorable. But she still has teeth and she will try to use them to protect me or my kid. We haven't had any bite incidents and I plan on keeping it that way.

People are soooooo obnoxious.

 

[beliefbite]

@nebula122 Abby is so stinking cute! Luna is 60 lbs of pure muscle. You’d think people would be more respectful of her size but no. I want to take Luna to the dog park but I am pretty nervous about it after walking her. I adopted her two months ago so we’re still learning each other. How did you finally let Abby off leash at the park?

 

[nebula122]

@beliefbite Thank you! She’s definitely a stinker haha. We got Abby at exactly 12 weeks, we had a senior dog who was 14 at the time and our senior dog definitely thought she was a person and not a dog. Kallie, our senior, was always a very calm, chill dog. I never had to train her, she was just born a GOOD dog. I never even used a leash to walk her, she was that calm, she never left my side on walks. I got her around 12 weeks old as well. Since she was older and thought she was a person, she wouldn’t play with Abby a whole lot, so I started taking Abby to the dog park just to socialize and she was just totally fine from the get go. It’s like she’s running for mayor of the dog park. Runs up to everyone to say hello and get pets, plays with other dogs, just has a blast.

The reactivity didn’t start until last July after our senior dog crossed the rainbow bridge and my physical and mental health got a LOT worse. Kallie was my very best friend and putting her down was the hardest thing I’ve ever done and it really took its toll on me.

After losing Kallie, it seemed Abby felt like she had to protect me and the kiddo at all costs during walks. But ONLY on walks, in our neighborhood, and on the leash. I keep taking her to the dog park and she keeps behaving there, though I watch her very closely of course. I guess she just feels like it’s HER neighborhood and since I’m her mom and my daughter is her best friend, that no one is allowed to get close to us when we’re outside. She barks when people come in the house, but she chills out very quickly and is the mayor again haha

If I were in your shoes, I would keep doing what you’re doing and slowly introduce new people and dogs. I follow a lot of Victoria Stillwell’s methods, the newer ones, not her old ones, and I’ve been having great success with those. You can watch whole episodes of “It’s me or the dog” on YouTube.

When you think she’s ready for the park, try and take her to a quiet park, when there’s not a lot of other people and dogs there. It doesn’t even have to be a dog park, just an open area where you can walk dogs. If you have a friend that has a super calm dog, maybe ask them to come with you and walk the dogs parallel to each other, keeping a good distance between the dogs, and both dogs leashed. If she starts to stress and you can’t redirect her, pack it in for the day and try another time.

I’ve also seen Victoria have a lot of success with bigger dogs and head collars. You could try that, with her regular leash attached, and see how that works out for you.

I’m by no means a dog expert, so these are just my 2 cents, but I really hope that you guys can get to a place where you both enjoy walks and can eventually let her romp with other dogs!

(Disclaimer: NOW, knowing what I do, I will never walk a dog off leash in a public area. Kallie was a huge exception and she literally would not chase a squirrel unless I gave her the go ahead. Yes, it was dumb and risky and thank goodness nothing ever happened. I was young and dumb when I got her, but we were both very lucky to have found each other and everything worked out for the best.)

 

[west07]

@nebula122 I'm chiming in because this hit SUCH A NERVE. Ugh. We have two dogs that are reactive to different things, but one of them is a 50lb, all black, spawn of satan looking GSD mix that people just. must. interact with. She'll raise her hackles and bark and scream on leash, and people keep approaching and laughing and talking to her, and parents will send their kids towards us. Like, are they stupid???

There's one kid who lives in our building who is terrified of her (literally runs screaming, also bad), but I always think about how that is at least more appropriate given her behavior. I cannot imagine having a small dog that people feel entitled to, and in which the behavior is more normalized due to bad owners.

I sympathize with you!

 

[nebula122]

@west07 I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine approaching a large dog that obviously doesn’t want to be my friend! When I’m out by myself, I always ask people well in advance of getting close to their dog if it’s friendly or not. If the dog looks even a bit stressed or the owner looks like they’re just trying to walk their dog, I keep moving and don’t say anything. I just blows my mind that this isn’t common sense to more people!

One of the first things my kid learned is respect for ALL animals. Never to approach an animal on her own, never walk up to a dog without permission, if the dog doesn’t want pets, walk away. It would be a cold day in hell before I ENCOURAGED her to walk up on a dog she doesn’t know.

You have my sympathies as well, I can imagine it’s a much more stressful situation for you, just given your dog’s size and strength.

We should all start an international campaign to educate the public about the proper way to handle seeing dogs in public.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@beliefbite totally feel you. so many times i’ve had to grab my 80 pound dog, almost falling to the ground while the other owner just prances around. also when people let their off leash dog run up to mine??? it’s the middle of the street why is your dog off leash?

 

[cristian95]

@beliefbite Wow this is so relatable it hurts. Same thing happened to me yesterday. As it was national dog day I figured hey let’s go on a long ass walk. I’m sick of walking my dog at night in the dark or in isolated places. My lab is 75 lbs of muscle that dislikes other dogs. Same as you, I wasn’t able to distract him on time and boom it happened.

I plant my feet and grip my dogs harness but the guy with his dog decide to keep walking on the same 3ft wide sidewalk right next to us, all while glaring at us of course. There was a kids football team practicing in the fields next to us and they all stared at the small human trying to control an aggressive dog. Excellent day. Totally embarrassing. Ugh.

 

[geoff_mann]

@beliefbite Ugh, how frustrating. Does Luna wear a patch or anything (do not pet, give space, etc.)? Not that it would prevent anything if they think approaching a dog having a meltdown is a fine idea. Also: what an insane thing to teach your kids!

 

[beliefbite]

@geoff_mann I did not think of getting her a patch. That’s a fantastic idea. I figured her 60 lb body lounging would give it away but I was proven wrong lol

 

[geoff_mann]

@beliefbite Before you start to have too much faith in humanity, people still try to call my muzzled, "do not pet" patch wearing dog over to pet him. There's only so much you can do if people are determined to be stupid.

 

[curiouscedric]

@geoff_mann It's almost like they see it as a challenge. My trainer was telling me about another dog that she's worked with for a very long time. She was at a patio with the dog owner and they warned the waitress that the dog is not friendly. The waitress got right into the dogs face (he was laying calmly under the table) and said, "Who's not friendly?? You!? Nooooo, you're friendly!!!" and the trainer had to stand up and tell her to BTFO. Like people think they have this magical connection with animals and are going to force your dog into friendliness and you'll praise the person for being so special.

 

[live_life]

@beliefbite Just finished one of these walks where I can usually find safe blocks but today every way we turned was another dog. When I went to cross the street, there’s another, and a guy walking behind us, so that when my 40~lb lab mix stopped to do her business I had to clean up as fast as possible to avoid them catching up to us. Her bark and lunging are not subtle. I carry treats and practice our distraction techniques but there are moments, like with dogs approaching from 3 direction, I just have to run and pull her along as she does her Cujo impression, while everyone else gives me that shaming look. It must be the owners fault she’s not better socialized. It can’t be that she’s a 5y/o rescue whose bounced around and is fearful. I am ever grateful to any owners who see us and go a different direction.